The Key
by Cat2000
Summary: “You really want to save the world? I’ll tell you how. You see, there’s this thing – an object in disguise – known as the Key. You have to kill the Key in each of her incarnations, from the beginning of time right up till now.”


**The Key**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Likewise, the plot of this story belongs to me. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Summary:** "You really want to save the world? I'll tell you how. You see, there's this thing – an object in disguise – known as the Key. You have to kill the Key in each of her incarnations, from the beginning of time right up till now."

**Warning(s):** Some violence; mild swearing; spoilers for the entirety of the first season of Supernatural, and probably the second season so far; some characters being killed; AU

* * *

"Dean, have you seen this?" Sam stared at the screen in front of him, hardly able to believe his eyes.

"No, Sammy, of _course_ I haven't seen it," Dean replied, rolling his eyes. "You've been hogging that laptop for hours. Besides, I'm beat," he added, closing his eyes. "Nothing short of an apocalypse is going to force me to get up."

"That might just be what we're looking at right now," Sam said slowly.

"_What_?" Dean immediately stood up, and quickly headed over to his brother. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Apparently, it's the end of the world," Sam explained, hardly glancing up at Dean. "Or damned near to it, at least. Ash just sent me an e-mail. I don't know if this is the work of _the_ demon; but it's certainly the work of _some_ demon. Earthquakes, tidal waves, avalanches, fires… all of these signs point to something big going down here."

"Here?" Dean repeated. "You mean 'here' as in this very town…?"

Sam shrugged slightly. "Not _just_ in this town – but in the whole world. This town _does_ seem to be the main focus, though…" His voice trailed off, and he frowned slightly. "Huh? That's strange…"

"What is it?" Dean leaned over Sam's shoulder, and peered at the e-mail on the screen. "Something wrong?"

"You could say that." Sam pushed back from the laptop slightly, and just about managed to avoid hitting his brother in the jaw. "Oops. Sorry."

"Don't apologise," Dean replied. "Just tell me exactly what you're talking about."

Sam released his breath in a slight sigh. "From what Ash says, there's supposed to be some kind of demon in this town – a demon who's willing to give out information. For a price…"

Dean narrowed his eyes slightly. "For a price?" he repeated. "What kind of price?" He clenched his fists. _Whatever it is, it's not gonna be pretty or easy to get… All of the demons I've encountered require some kind of sacrifice in return for _anything_ – even merely information._ Dean wasn't sure just what he would do if faced with a choice of one life for many.

All he could do was hope that that would never happen…

Sam gave another sigh, rubbing at his neck a little. "I have no idea," he admitted. "Ash hasn't gone into detail about that. He's just mentioned how to find the demon…"

Dean frowned. "How to find it? You mean the ritual to perform, right?" _I wonder what _that_ will entail…_

Sam shook his head slightly. "Apparently, the demon likes bars and beer and loose women as much as you do. Ash has made some mention of the bars we're likely to find it in. So what do you want us to do? The demon might be our only lead… But I'm not comfortable with talking to it any more than you are."

"What, are you working your psychic mojo on me?" Dean stared his brother down. "Stay out of my mind if you know what's good for you, Sam. And I don't care _what_ we do. We're just not gonna give the demon anything that'll cause the death of someone else, all right?" He started pulling his shoes on.

Sam turned his attention back to the screen of his laptop, and then shut it down before closing the lid. He pulled his own shoes on after a glance at his brother.

Dean refused to look at Sam. If he did, he knew that he'd just see the hurt, lost-puppy look his brother tended to get. _Damn it, Sammy… How come you've gotta make everything so difficult for me?_ Dean was fully aware that Sam wanted to talk about what had happened to their dad. Maybe it would even help his little brother feel better.

But Dean wasn't up to having a really deep, meaningful, emotional conversation – not now, and maybe not ever. He was dealing with the pain in his own way – and doing the best he could.

Sam would have to do the same.

"You coming?" Dean asked shortly, swinging his back up over his shoulder. Without waiting for a reply, he strode towards the door.

"Yeah… I guess." Sam sighed, and followed his brother.

* * *

Dean led the way into the third pub, glancing around with a slight sigh. He was hoping to finally be able to get a drink, since both other times, Sam had dragged him out once they'd realised that the demon wasn't around.

"Hey, Sammy…" Dean said to his brother. "Even if the demon's not here, we _are_ going to have to stop for a while and get a drink – you know, just relax for a few moments. We've earned it, wouldn't you say?" Well, in _his_ opinion, they had. He didn't much care about Sam's opinion.

Sam sighed, but didn't make any kind of response. He walked up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dean, and then looked around, narrowing his eyes a little, before nudging his brother slightly. "Look over there."

Dean glanced in the direction that Sam indicated, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he spotted what appeared to be a young woman half leaning over the pool table, lining up to take a shot, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Her red hair fell over her face, masking most of her features.

"I seriously hope you're not suggesting that that's the demon," Dean commented. "I thought you said that the demon was male."

"Actually, I said that it liked loose women – like you," Sam replied, and shrugged slightly. "I suppose it's pretty much a homosexual demon – or just one which can change its form or possess or whatever…"

Dean raised his eyebrows, and tried not to imagine two girls making out. _Kind of a shame to waste pretty women on other women…_ Dean didn't say anything out loud, though, and headed over to the demon.

As she lifted her head, Dean took a step forward and slammed the demon up against the pool table. He ignored the sharp looks he got from some of the others around, and the fact that there were a couple of heavyset guys quickly approaching. He put his face up close to the demon's and hissed, "You tell us just what's going on _now_!"

"Dean…" Sam started, taking a step forward.

"Shut up, Sammy." Dean kept hold of the demon's arms, and watched her closely, ready to act. He wouldn't be too bothered if there turned out to be a fight. He was almost looking for an excuse to do so.

"We'd better get out of here," Sam said quickly, glancing around.

"You should listen to your brother," the demon commented, smiling. She made a mocking tutting sound. "Most humans get mad when they see someone threatening a woman."

"You're not a woman." Dean could see Sam's point, though, and backed up a step, although he didn't let go of the demon. "Let's take this outside." He looked around at the few people who were approaching, and there must have been a hint of danger in his eyes, since the men quickly found something more interesting to look at.

Dean realised that Sam was staring at him, and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What?"

Sam shook his head slightly. "Nothing." He led the way to the door of the bar, and Dean followed closely behind, dragging the demon along.

_We could have at least stayed to get a drink or something,_ Dean thought with a slight sigh as they walked out into the night.

"You know, if you'd wanted me to come with you, all you had to do was ask," the demon commented, making no attempt to pull herself free of Dean's grasp. "You _are_ kind of cute – for a mortal."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Dean yanked the demon round to face him. "My brother's found out about these signs of something big coming – and we think that _you_ know something about it. So you'd better tell us all you know."

"You're the Winchester boys, right?" The demon laughed. "You know, you two are quite famous – along with your father…"

Dean immediately slammed the demon hard against the wall. It didn't seem to have much affect on her, but it definitely made him feel a lot better. "Quit it with the games and everything! Tell us what we want to know _now_ – or else."

"Dean…" Sam said warningly.

"_What_?!" Dean demanded, not taking his eyes off of the demon.

"She's not going to help us if you kill her," Sam pointed out, taking a slight step forward. "So she knows who we are? That's bad, and means that other demons probably know what we look like as well – but we can't do anything about that now. Don't do something you're gonna regret, Dean."

_I'd hardly regret having one less demon to worry about…_ Dean relaxed his hold on the demon fractionally, though. "Tell us what you know," he insisted.

The demon tilted her head slightly. "And what will you give me in return?"

"Your life," Dean replied.

The demon shook her head slightly. "That's not good enough," she said. "I'm going to need something more. But I'll tell you something in exchange for my life – but if you want any more, we'll have to bargain."

"Well, it's something…" Sam sighed, and then looked at the demon. "So tell us."

"You really want to save the world?" the demon asked. "I'll tell you how. You see, there's this thing – an object in disguise – known as the Key. You have to kill the Key in each of her incarnations, from the beginning of time right up till now."

Dean instantly narrowed his eyes. "That's not telling us _anything_!"

"What's the Key?" Sam asked, his tone more or less reasonable compared to his older brother's.

The demon shook her head. "If you want anything more, you'll have to give me something in return."

"Forget it." Dean scowled. "We'll just figure it out on our own." He reluctantly let go of the demon's arm. _A deal's a deal, I guess – but that doesn't mean I have to like it._ He took a slight step back, and looked at his brother. "Let's go."

Sam ignored Dean, and instead addressed the demon: "What sort of bargain did you have in mind?"

The demon smiled, and took a step towards Dean. She reached out to run a finger lightly down his cheek, and Dean recoiled sharply. "Get away from me you bitch!"

The demon smiled again. "I'm sure you can guess what I want."

Dean recovered his composure, and glared at the demon. "It's not happening!" he snapped, fighting down the urge to hit her as hard as he could.

The demon shrugged, and turned to walk away. "Well… If you happen to change your mind, I'm sure you can work out where to find me."


End file.
